Middletown, CT – The Connection has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA). COA accreditation is an objective, independent, and reliable validation of an agency’s performance, which involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s administration, management, and service delivery functions against international standards of best practice.
For more than fifty years The Connection has prided itself on creating a trauma-informed, culturally competent, gender-responsive, and solution-focused approach to serving its community. The Connection strives to help individuals and their families by creating a quality system of care that allows people to seamlessly access a full complement of clinical and community-based service options to meet each clients’ unique needs.
The standards created by COA ensure that services are well-coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented, and provided by a skilled and supported workforce. This accreditation demonstrates accountability in the management of resources, sets standardized best practice thresholds for service and administration, and increases organizational capacity and accountability by creating a framework for ongoing quality improvement.
To achieve COA accreditation, The Connection first provided written evidence of compliance with the COA standards. Thereafter, a group of specially trained volunteer Peer Reviewers confirmed adherence to these standards during a series of on-site interviews with The Connection trustees, staff and clients. Based on their findings, COA’s volunteer-based Accreditation Commission voted that The Connection had successfully met the criteria for accreditation.
“The Connection is dedicated to enhancing the physical, emotional, intellectual health and wellness of the people in our communities through excellence in leadership, integrity, and full transparency in the spirit of collaboration,” says The Connection Chief Executive Officer Lisa DeMatteis-Lepore. “Receiving the accreditation from COA honors the hard work of all our people and encourages us to continue to provide exceptional care in the true spirit of healing”
About: Founded in 1977, COA is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations in the United States and Canada. Over 2,000 organizations — voluntary, public, and proprietary; local and statewide; large and small — have either successfully achieved COA accreditation or are currently engaged in the process. Presently, COA has a total of 47 service standards that are applicable to over 125 different types of programs. To learn more about COA, please visit www.coanet.org.
The Connection is a statewide human services non-profit providing unique solutions to the problems of homelessness, mental illness, substance use, and community justice rehabilitation. Find out more information on our website: www.theconnectioninc.org.
For media inquiries, please contact Allison DeBlasio, Senior Director of Communications and Business Strategy at 860-682-5927.